With its entertaining story that you have a surprising amount of control over, [Late Shift is] definitely a triumph in a genre that is steadily making a revival.
It is difficult to evaluate Late Shift as a video game, considering how little is given to the player in terms of interaction. But its limits are also its main force. If you want to live a real dynamic and well-written movie, where are you going to decide on developments and consequences, the CtrlMovie product is fascinating and unique in its own right.
In terms of FMV games I've played recently, I certainly liked this a lot more than The Bunker. I felt that the story was far more engaging with the Late Shift. I guess I like the choice and consequence style of gameplay more than the point-and-click style.
You play as Matt Thompson, a college student who works the late shift as a valet/car park attendant. The night appears to be rather quiet, until a robber breaks into the car park, holds you up at gun point and forces you to drive to a house where a robbery is being planned. Unfortunately, the guy who kidnapped you suffers an injury when he broke into the garage and Matt is forced to take his place in the robbery instead. The robbery goes awry and you end up in the crosshairs of a Chinese triad gang, thus beginning the adventure to escape with your life based on the decisions you make.
"Gameplay" is fine for what it is; a choice and consequence, FMV style game. Certain choices can lead to entire chapters being locked off until you try again on another play through, so there's at least some consequences for your actions.
The acting is fine, it's kind of interesting to watch Matt's character arc quickly go from an average, innocent college student to a hardened criminal. The music is just kind of throw-away, although I wish they hadn't mixed the music to be so loud and the voices to be so low. I had to drop the music levels to about 60% just to hear what the actors were saying to each other.
There are some technical issues I've found with the game. The subtitles and the actors lines don't match up on several occasions, there was one instance where I pushed my luck and managed to get a 50% share in the money for the robbery. The subtitles matched that decision when it played out, but the actor recited the line where it was only 25% (If you don't push your luck). There's also random multi-coloured bars that can flash up on screen momentarily and I get some frame rate slow down and acceleration with a number of scenes, leading to believe that maybe parts of this game weren't rendering correctly. Could simply be a console vs. PC thing.
I do wish there was a way to check what choices you've made, what ending you got and even compare your choices globally with other players. I don't really care that I made X number of choices in a play through, when would that ever tell me anything of consequence?
Overall, Late Shift is short, fun FMV game that I can recommend if, like me, you've never really played many FMV games. Do try to pick it up on sale, though. I picked it up for $7 CAD, as oppose to $12.49 CAD.
A captivating interactive movie, with great production values and a good cast of actors, even if with some technical imperfections like casual video stutters and audio desyncs. It's hard to evaluate it as a real video game, but as an interactive movie it's definitely worth one or more runs.
If you want something to do that will hold your interest while you laze around, or a bit of a different experience the next time you go to watch a movie, I highly recommend Late Shift. It has some issues that are a bit jarring, but if you don't let those distract you, it's a great experience overall.
Doubt is understandable given the history of the full motion video game genre, but despite some glaring missteps, Late Shift is a step in the right direction for this presentation style. With a story that changes drastically on the way to many different endings, issues like stuttering after decisions and a hint of less than stellar production value can be somewhat forgiven. Before playing, Late Shift's prospects were met with skepticism, but several playthroughs later we need to see more FMV games that continue to build on the progress this one exemplifies.
Late Shift is an enjoyable story and was good enough that I didn’t mind playing it through several times, even with the issues I had with it. If you’re in the mood for a decent story and don’t mind working for it, then give Late Shift a try. It is definitely an enjoyable experience.
The concept behind Late Shift is not necessarily a bad one, but if you're going to design a game around an interactive story, it is crucial the story is actually well done. This isn't the case here, sadly, and is a mess of continuity errors, laughably bad acting, and straight up nonsensical plot points. It doesn't matter which decisions you make, because you're always going to get a bad ending by virtue of having to play the game to get to it. This is a short, entirely forgettable experience that isn't even worth the low price of admission. There is some novelty here because of it being FMV, but with how bad things are, it certainly feels more like FML than anything else.
EN:
An interesting concept. "Choose your choice" game in the form of a TV series. This is definitely not a classic game, but an interactive show. Netflix later copied this concept for its series. Unfortunately, apart from the then innovative approach, the game is nothing special. The story is just good, the characters are average ...
SRP:
Interesantan koncept. "Izaberi svoj izbor" igra u formi tv serije. Ovo definitvno nije klasična igra, već interaktivni show. Netflix je posle kopirao ovaj koncept za svoje serije. Nažalost osim tada inovativnog pristupa, igra nije ništa specijalno. Priča je samo dobra, likovi prosek...
Очень рекомендую интерактивное кино под названием Late Shift, которое доступно на всех актуальных платформах - Xbox One, PS4 и PC.
Это добротно поставленное и снятое интерактивное кино в жанре криминальной драмы с элементами триллера. Сюжет захватывающий с неожиданными твистами в стиле ранних работ Гая Ричи и местами приправлен жестокостью Такеши Китано, что в совокупности с нелинейным повествованием создаёт крайне увлекательный кино-аттракцион, в котором вам предстоит принимать решения, пытаясь предугадать последствия. Харизматичные персонажи заставят сопереживать до самого финала. Концовок, кстати, здесь около десятка, и если по началу покажется, что история короткая, то повторные прохождения с новыми сценами и диалогами отбросят весь скепсис! Диалоги на английском, но присутствуют русские субтитры, причём правильные субтитры без цензуры, которая убила бы всю атмосферу! Я считаю, что перевести **** как «отвали» - это идиотизм и не может вызвать ничего кроме когнитивного диссонанса, тем более когда слышен голос оригинального дубляжа
Very nice "make your own choices" tv-show slash game, but it's too short and lacking catharsis. Netflix abused the idea recently, and I think we're going to see a lot of these kinds of experiences (let's not call it netiher a game, neither a tv-show/film).
In terms of quality, its probably the best I have seen for this type of game. Most importantly, choices made by the player appear to impact the direction the story takes. Nonetheless, when the bar for FMV games is set so low, its easy to peak above the rest. Remove the intractability, and the game does not compare well with even low budget films. The acting is still a little corny, the writing is weak, and the overarching plot is ridiculous.
Les jeux FMV (Full Motion Video) étaient à la mode dans les années 90 lors de l’avènement du CD-Rom qui permettait de stocker une quantité faramineuse de données et notamment les gros fichiers vidéo…
Notez qu’ironiquement, les CD sont de nos jours devenus les disquettes d’antan puisque Late Shift nécessiterait une bonne douzaine de disques avec ses quelques 7 Go !Et malgré ses **** 7 Go (risibles à l’heure du blu-ray), Late Shift affiche une qualité d’image sans commune mesure avec les horreurs qu’on se tapait à l’époque… les Wing Commander peuvent en témoigner ! Mais si les Wing Co. 3 et 4 (avec le Privateer 2 aussi) utilisaient la vidéo (et ses choix) comme cinématiques interactives de luxe, le coeur du jeu était toujours numériquement calculé et modélisé comme un jeu normal.
Ici, avec Late shift, la vidéo fait tout… et fait partie intégrante de l’expérience. Pas vraiment un jeu donc, car le problème avec ces trucs-là, c’est toujours le manque de rejouabilité. Ainsi, se retaper des scènes entières jusqu’aux choix qu’on veut tenter est assez fastidieux…
Et puis on se rend compte que certains choix anodins en apparence mènent de façon inopinée et comme un cheveu sur la soupe vers quelque chose d’inattendu, voire d’invraisemblable… mais ça, c’est aussi le lot de nombre de jeux d’aventure à dire **** tout cas, Late Shift reste une aventure bien réalisée mais à l’écriture facile qui abuse des rebondissements exagérés.
Refaire (encore) le jeu plusieurs fois pour voir les 7 fins (!) disponibles me semble très **** « jeu » est tout de même en anglais (correctement sous-titré français) et prend une bonne heure je crois à chaque fois (j’ai pas chronométré). En somme, une expérience à découvrir certes mais pas concluante sur le long terme.
SummaryLate Shift is a high stakes FMV crime thriller. Forced into a brutal London heist, you must choose your own adventure in this interactive cinematic experience with adaptable storylines that lead to one of seven conclusions. Your decisions are you.